Now onto Anthony Jackson’s masterful bass part.

AJ’s bass line is as intrinsic to the song as the melody itself. No doubt Mr. Fagen composed the bass part and he had his choice of bassists to play the part but he chose Anthony Jackson. The part requires equal parts restraint, dynamics, dead center in the pocket groove, and tone. AJ provided all in spades. Think this is a simple ‘throw away easy pop’ bass line that doesn’t require much thinking, think again. As with ALL of Anthony’s bass parts every note is carefully orchestrated in terms of range and articulation. I highly recommend playing along with this ‘easy’ track and see just how much finesse and careful listening it requires. Bring these sensibilities to you next pop recording session and you’ll be happy with just how much better you sound… Enjoy!

Click below to download Anthony Jackson’s Bass Part on I.G.Y. by Donald Fagen: